033
by Moves of a dreamer
Summary: Set after Halo 4, Lasky thinks its time blue team gets s new member, And 033 needs a team anyway.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Failure Spartans

Spartan-033 walked the quiet halls of Infinity in the direction of the mess hall. Her tongue had not tasted food for days, courtesy of her latest mission from ONI, and she was ready to put a good, hot meal in her stomach. Her red hair hung mid neck and bounced softly in rhythm with her angry steps. ONI had sent her in on a mission with incorrect information, and she had been forced to stay at the rebel covenant base an extra three days to collect the correct information before taking the base down. It angered her how ONI treated the spartans that had not single handedly saved humanity. Like the Master Chief. She didn't quite detested him the way other spartans like her had. He saved humanity, so she wasn't completely against him, but he was treated like the king of ONI. And her kind were treated like the shame of ONI

They let him breach protocol time and time again while she faced punishment for stepping out of line. The rest of the Spartans were treated as if they were better than the unlucky few whose augmentations had not been completely successful. People like her. Deep down, she knew her distaste wasn't rightly placed but she couldn't help it. She'd been bullied by her underlings, taken for granted by ONI, and where had the Master Chief been all those times? Where had the spartans who claimed to protect and defend each other been then? Why weren't they there to protect their spartan 'family'? Because she wasn't their family. Her family of "Failure" spartans, as they had been called so many times, were to continue life in shame or unable to come out triumphant in battle. 033 had never even considered those two options. It would mean letting ONI sweep her and the rest of her family under the carpet.

And so she was left alone. 033 entered the mess hall and spotted Commander Lasky sipping his coffee next to her favorite window. 'Great' She thought 'to add to the days of agony I have to pick a new eating spot'. 033 picked up a tray with a juicy piece of chicken and snow white mashed potatoes topped with butter. The mess hall usually had rather delectable meals now that they had bothered to update the kitchen equipment. She spotted a free table at the far end of the mess hall and made her way there, not trusting herself near others with her temper as flared as it was today. As she moved to sit down a marine who had just finished his lunch walked past and unceremoniously tripped on her feet, falling face first into his empty tray.

"The heck was that for?" The man asked angrily. 033 slammed her tray on the table and gave an ominous glare. "Maybe karma decided you should have been watching where your feet were taking you, then you may have noticed you falling was anything but intentional on my part" She spat before taking a seat on the bench and digging into her food. The man glared back at her before continuing on his way. "Dumb failure spartan" He mumbled under his breath just before a cup came flying into the back of his head. "The heck, woman?!" He yelled as he turned to see a very ticked 033 shooting him a glare that could kill. "I may have been a fluke on quite a few of my augmentations but my hearing wasn't one of them" She snarled. 033 ignored the other occupants in the room as they began to form a crowd. "Oh, did I hurt the little spartans fee-" The man was jostled out of his sentence when a fist he never saw coming hit him square in the face knocking him back into a man who was seated about a table away.

This soldier, who was clearly drunk from whatever he had snuck into his cup and was likely pretending was coffee, hadn't even noticed the fight until now having been to busy breaching protocol and attempting not to get caught. 033 sighed as the drunk marine started a fight with the man closest to the one who had actually run into him. 'Imbeciles' she thought as he chased the wrong marine straight into another.

Before she knew it the mess hall had broken out into a fight, punches flying here and there. 033 ignored them as she attempted to reach the specific man she still had a bone to pick with. She ducked under punches and head clashes as she neared the man who had dared to tick her off even further then she was when she arrived to Infinity that morning. Maybe leaving the helmet off her spartan armor back at her room hadn't been such a great idea how was she supposed to know she would be staring a bar fight for lunch. She barely registered people knocking into her against her silver armor. To most people it would appear to be the armor of a regular Spartan but those who had met the failure Spartans knew the armor well. The dead ones they usually brought back were always wearing it. It was usually fitted to the specific wearer since the regular sizes were too big, and meant for Spartans who had come out successful from their augmentations. A marine swung for her face but she grabbed the punch and sent him barreling into another man with a swift kick to his chest.

Most of the marines didn't pay her much attention as she slipped past them in search of the man who had started this whole ruckus with her. She didn't appear very dangerous to them despite her spartan she could even really be considered a Spartan. Whether she was it not, it was the only thing listed on her file. She had finally found the man when commander Lasky's angered voice yelled for everyone to stop the nonsense. The other marines had the sense to stop but 033 did not. She most definitely wasn't going to stop. Her fist nearly connected with the man's head when an armor clad hand grabbed her arm. Commander Sarah Palmer. 033 wasn't particularly fond of Palmer. She was a rule follower, and 033 hated rule followers. Mainly because the rules they followed were ONIs, and she hated ONI. You could say her reasoning was like a twisted hydra. Section off one problem and two more appeared.

"Spartan- 033 Holland, did you not hear commander Lasky's order? I do believe you were just telling marine Jensen about your augmented hearing so it's not looking like you have a good excuse for your behavior here today" She said in that flat voice of hers. 033 was about to spit back a retort when commander Lasky interrupted her. "I've heard enough, Holland. Report to my office in fifteen minutes. You and I will discuss this in private" He said in exasperation. 033 looked away from the commander in embarrassment. Lasky, despite having a higher title than her, was a good friend. He only ever used her name when he was extremely disappointed with her. Holland grit her teeth and straightened her shoulders before walking out of the mess hall. She gave Palmer an ominous glare as she passed her. Whatever Lasky had in store for her wouldn't be good

Holland waited outside of commander Lasky's office, while he finished a quick meeting. Her mood had gone even more sour then when she left the mess hall. When the doors opened and people began to spill out of the room, Holland moved from her leaning position against the wall to stand next to the door. When the office was empty she made her way into the room. "Holland, I hope you realize how much trouble you're in" Lasky started. "Spare me the disapproving parent talk, Lasky. What's my punishment" She asked bluntly. Lasky sighed before turning to face her. "I have decided that taking solo missions without a team for so long has made you rather…. Unaccustomed to people, therefore, for the time being, you will be teaming up with the regular spartans, If I see you get your act back together we will discuss your solo status again" Lasky said. Regular Spartans. The word regular cut deeper than he knew but that wasn't something he needed to know "But I hate the 'regular' spartans" Holland grit out.

Those spartans were everything she was supposed to be, but because her augmentations had failed her in some areas, she wasn't one of them. "Well maybe you should get acquainted with them, I'm sure Master Chief and the rest of his team will be happy to welcome you in" Lasky assured. Holland was trying very hard now not to blow up in Lasky's face. Master Chiefs team. Really? She'd heard the other spartans talk about him like one would an older sibling. Everyone seemed to be fond of him and his team but Holland was just bitter about them. They were too perfect, and she was the opposite. "I could have assigned you to Palmer's team, but you don't seem to like the stiff and obedient type, so i'm cutting you some slack here" Lasky said. Holland took a deep breath before walking towards the door. "If that's all i'll be going" She said.

"Spartan- 058 Linda will come retrieve you from your room when the team goes to train at the gym this afternoon" Lasky said as she exited his office. Holland didn't respond but he knew she had heard him. Her angry footsteps were the only sound in the empty hallway. Infinity was so large it didn't matter how many people were put on it. It would always seem empty. Holland pulled her keycard from a small pocket in her armor and slid it into the lock pad. The door opened with a quiet whoosh and she made her way to the bed where she plopped unceremoniously. A Spartan team. That would mean taking on Spartan missions and doing their training exercises too. Could she keep up with them? Or would she end up looking like the failure she really was? Holland sighed and rolled over in her bed. This was going to be an interesting next few months.

Holland awoke to the sound of knocking on her door. She didn't remember falling asleep but the fact that she remained in her armor was proof it had been unintentional. She pushed herself off the bed and made her way to the door. With the push of a button the door slid open to reveal a male spartan standing before her. "Ah you must be 033, nice to meet ya" He said. "Can I help you?" Holland asked groggily. "I was sent to retrieve you for afternoon training, since you'll be joining our team and all" He said in a cheery voice that was obviously fake as if he was being forced into using it. "I think your mistaken,spartan-058 was supposed to come for me" Holland said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "She was unavailable, and call her Linda, we don't go by our numbers in the team" He said. Holland yawned and stretched her hands above her head. "Fine by me, lead the way…?" "Fred" He answered. "Well then lead the way Fred" Holland said with slight disinterest.

The two of them walked to the gym in an awkward silence that had Holland wishing Linda had been the one to come for her instead. When they entered the double doors into the gym Holland found a group of three spartans awaiting their arrival. "You must be 033, My name is John and i'll be your team leader" The spartan in the green armor said. Something felt odd about this. "So what's your name kid?" One of the female spartans asked. "You can call me 033" She said as she stopped a few feet away from the group. "She means your name not your number" Fred said as he picked up his gym bag from the floor. "You can call me 033" Holland repeated trying to keep the aggression out of her voice.

All three of the spartans looked to John, who simply shrugged his shoulders. "Well this is Spartan Kelly and spartan Linda" He said. "And if you're less comfortable with names feel free to call me Chief" He added. Holland's eyebrows shot up unintentionally. 'This was the Master Chief?' she thought. She had expected him to be….. meaner. Most spartans usually mocked her status as a failure spartan before giving her their name. That was when it clicked. "If it's Lasky who asked you to be sugar and spice, don't bother. He's just trying to fix the way I view spartans" Holland said, wanting to cut to the chase. She was expecting to see an actual difference in their attitude towards her. But there was none and the whole room seemed to freeze. "Lasky did say you had bad experience with other spartans"Kelly started. "But he refused to go into detail" Linda deadpanned. Holland looked at the two with a raised eyebrow. "Of course he did, he's Lasky for goodness sakes" She said under her breath. "If there's a problem I should be informed about concerning other Spartans I'd be happy to fix it" John said. Holland sighed before looking towards the Master Chief.

"I know what the rest of the Spartans think of me, you don't have to pretend to think otherwise" she said. She didn't need the Master Chief playing the big brother role. He may have been good at playing the team leader who cared for everyone, but past experience with powerful Spartans told her it wouldn't last for her. "Well then, let's get started, 033 and Kelly will start on the punching bags while Linda, Fred, and I will start with two on one sparing" John said, he was going to keep this a civil as possible, which meant turning a blind eye to some of her more….aggressive responses. Whatever her problems with Spartans was he planned to fix it. That had been Lakys main request in the first place. Holland spent a good 20 minutes on the bags before she felt herself becoming tired, but she didn't dare let herself stop. If they knew she was weaker than them, they would never respect her.

Sweat rolled down her arms as she worked herself to the point of nearly blacking out. It wasn't until chief called for a switch that she allowed herself to rest. Surprisingly chief didn't call her to the sparing ring until everyone else had had their turn. She was against Linda and Fred, who both looked not nearly as tired as she felt. Fred threw the first punch and Holland ducked under him before going for Linda's legs. She took the other Spartan down only to be thrown into the wall by her.

Strength had been one of her successful augmentations but agility hadn't. She would have to rely on it to get her through this fight. Fred came at her again but she managed to grab his fist and throw him into Linda. They had 45 seconds to get her to tap out. Holland was determined to make it to the end, Linda attempted to land a kick on her stomach but she managed to catch it and slam the other woman into the ground. 30 seconds. She barely registered being thrown to the ground by Fred, but rolled away and got onto her feet as quickly as she could. 15 seconds. Holland wasn't fast enough though and before she could move out of the way Linda landed a hit to the back of her head. Holland's teeth came crashing down on her tongue and her mouth began to leak blood onto the floor. In the corner of her vision she saw Kelly flinch. Holland grit her teeth and spit the remaining blood in her mouth onto the floor. She didn't need their pity. 8 seconds. Her tongue burned but she used the pain as a way to fuel her determination. The buzzer went off just as she made a swift kick to the back of Linda's knee. She had done it. She had survived in the ring with two other Spartans. "That's all for today, report to the mess hall in an hour, we'll be discussing our next mission, and 033, get that wound looked at" John ordered as he picked up his gym bag and left for his room. " My apologies, that looked painful" Linda said emotionlessly as she passed Holland.

The Spartan rolled her eyes and headed in the direction of the door. 'At least she even bothered' Holland thought as she exited the gym. As she walked towards her room to freshen up, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to find Kelly giving her a smile. "I don't know _exactly_ what problems you've had with us in the past, but let me apologize for my brothers and sisters" She said. Holland looked at her quizzically for a moment. "I knew one once, she's gone now, but what I enjoyed most about her was her inability to give up. It's the best part about spartans like you" She said. Holland's eyes widened. Kelly knew. Holland didn't miss the way she avoided calling her a failure spartan. "I won't say anything to Linda or the boys" She said over her shoulder as she continued down the hallway. Holland wasn't sure if that was a promise or a pact of some sort. If Kelly wanted to make bonds, who was she to stop her from trying. Spartans did have a knack for that. It was probably the only think she liked them for.

It wasn't until the gym's custodian passed her that she realized she had been standing stupidly in the hallway. She wasn't sure she even wanted to know how long she had been stuck in her thoughts and completely dead to the world."I hope you're happy Lasky, you finally got what you've been wanting all these years, let's just hope this doesn't end up with me in a coffin" She mumbled to herself as she continued her walk to her room. 'or any of them' she added silently.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: mission one

Holland rubbed the disinfectant on her tongue and winced. She had grown accustomed to the burn of the medicine, but it still hurt. When she was finished cleaning her wound she chucked the cotton pad into her small, plastic wastebin before preparing her weaponry for her mission with the Spartans. Holland strapped her gravity hammer to her back (there wasn't a weapon she loved more than it) and hooked an energy sword to her belt. She wasn't one for combat from afar, and risking a missed shot was not on her list of plans.

Her armor clanked softly in the quiet halls of Infinity as she walked to the mess hall. If she saw _that_ marine again she wasn't sure her fists would be able to stay away from the man's face. The disapproving look Lasky would give her only enticed her to do it even more. She didn't have a problem showing ONI that they had made a mistake in taking such a fiery personality into their ranks. It was most likely what set her apart from the failure spartans laying in their graves.

Upon her arrival to the mess hall, Holland found Chief and Fred already discussing the plans. She took a seat across from the two as they continued to examine the info on a small tablet. "So is this a 'piece of cake' mission or is precision of utmost importance?" Holland asked the two stoic spartans. Both of them continued to stare at the tablet with matching frowns.

" So precision it is" She sighed in disappointment. Fred slid her the tablet and leaned back into his seat. "Take a look for yourself" He said. The mission looked fairly easy. Take out a gang of covenant rebels, collect any tactical data, and return to base. "If its covenant forces we're dealing with, why is ONI taking care of it in the first place? Shouldn't the covenant take care of their own rebels? There has to be something concerning that in whatever peace agreement they made after the war" She said as she handed Fred the tablet.

" I agree that it doesn't make much sense, but when a mission's info has so many blanks, it's best to be as on guard as possible" Chief said. "Just when I thought i was done with that problem from ONI" Holland muttered. Fred gave her an odd look but was interrupted by Kelly before he could further investigate the statement. "Well look at that Linda, the boys started the party without us" She said. "Holland raised an eyebrow at her and coughed indignantly.

"Ah, right that's gonna take some getting used to, forgot we had another point against the boys now" The spartan added awkwardly. "For now" Holland said. As she picked at a piece of loose metal on her seat. "But Lasky sai-" Kelly was cut off by Linda as she coughed into her sleeve and gave her a look. "That you would be here for more than a short time, so it's only natural that we get used to the presence of one more" She finished catching the other spartan's hint.

Holland chose to ignore the slip up, knowing that Lasky had quite a few plans up his sleeve. Whether her assignment to the group was meant to be permanent or not, she would see to it that things ended up much different. She was a force to be reckoned with when she had the drive. "So this mission, what are we dealing with?" Linda asked taking a seat beside Holland. "Taking out a few rebel forces for the covenant, since they apparently can't do their own job" Holland said making Kelly snort. "It's all a bit fishy" Fred added. "Whatever it is, we'll handle it just fine. When do we leave?" Kelly asked. "As soon as I finish a quick meeting with Lasky. We'll be taking a drop ship, so wait for me there" Chief answered.

"Well I guess that sums up the mission" Fred said, and with that the meeting was finished. The three spartans headed to the ship to load up while Chief left to see Lasky. Holland stood to follow the other spartans but stopped. 'What did the master chief have to discuss with Lasky?' She reminded herself that it wasn't her business and continued into the hallway. But it was a bit odd that he wouldn't bring the rest of blue team with. As inconspicuously as she could, Holland turned her head to watch the other spartan take a different hallway. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she followed after him, It wasn't hard to follow him to Lasky's office from a distance. Infinity had so many snake like twists and turns, It was a miracle people weren't constantly watching for a stalker in halls like these. She watched from around the corner as he entered Lasky's dimly lit office, before slowly making her way closer to the door. The commander's door had a tendency to not shut properly and Holland had never been so grateful for it

"And there haven't been any recorded energy spikes?" Chief asked. "Not a single one, the project seemed to fail entirely, but if that were true, how has she survived as even an ODST this long? There has to be something that isn't connected in the cell structure" Lasky Explained. 'What are they talking about' Holland wondered.

" This project required even more precision the the spartan project had, but there is no way that it was a complete failure on 239 different test subjects, if this project wasn't as much of a failure as I thought, I need to know immediately" Lasky said. "Definitely,sir" She heard the Chief respond before the sound of his spartan boots hitting the floor reached Hollands ears. Realizing that he was headed towards the door, Hollands eyes widened and she sucked in a breath. She had to make something up and quick. Stepping through the door to Lasky's Office was probably the dumbest thing she had ever done.

"033?" The Chief questioned. Holland gulped and opened her mouth. "I, Er, am I interrupting? I just wanted to check with Lasky on um, the last time the vehicles had been refueled…. In case we needed...extra gas" She finished lamely. Lasky raised an eyebrow. "They were refueled yesterday, I assumed the pilot would have told you so" Lasky said quizzically. Holland's face flushed slightly. She should have thought of that herself! "Oh, i um, just thought of it so I…..figured id ask you on my way there" She said. Of all the times to be in the presence of the master chief, this was the worst. "Well then, if that's all we'll be off now" Chief said before forcefully dragging holland in the direction of the drop ship.

"I should have you reported for eavesdropping" Chief muttered as soon as they were out of earshot. "But then they would have to ask me what you were discussing" Holland shot back smugly. "And what were we discussing?" He asked. Holland smirked. "I'm not entirely sure, which means they would have to ask you, and something tells me secrecy is of the utmost importance" She said in a hushed voice. "You're too smart for your own good, now I see why Kelly is so excited to have you around" He said. Holland snorted. 'More like she knows i'm a failure spartan, everyone likes having a secret to keep every once in awhile' Holland thought.

As The drop ship took off, Holland felt her stomach drop. The pilot clearly didn't know the meaning of a 'smooth take off'. Even Linda, who had an absolute aura of constant control, had to grip the seat handle tightly to avoid falling on the hard, metal floor of the drop ship. Holland on the other hand, found herself getting well acquainted with the cold metal surface during their take off. She was beginning to contemplate grabbing onto Fred, but he would most likely go down with her.

"Well that was…." Kelly started. "Uncomfortable" Linda finished for her. "That doesn't even begin to describe it, why doesn't this thing have seatbelts?" Holland complained under her breath. A grin broke out on Linda's face as Holland reseated herself. "Because it's easier to jump out of a ship when there's no seat belt to worry about" She said, and Holland's face paled. "Were going to jump out of this thing? Haven't you ever heard of landing the ship first?" Holland asked. "After that take off I doubt free falling could be much worse than a landing" Fred muttered. He had a point there.

"So what did Lasky want?" Linda asked Chief as she sat pin straight in her seat. " Chief looked at her through his visor before sighing. "It concerned the _other_ mission" He explained. Holland looked towards Linda, then back at Chief, expecting one of them to explain. "What mission?" Kelly asked and Fred rolled his eyes. Either Kelly didn't pick up on cues very well or she was pressing buttons on purpose.

This was clearly something the rest of them team was in on and wasn't to be shared with Holland. Kelly most likely did not agree with their secrecy. "The one we were given previous to this one" Fred answered, attempting to give away as little info away to Holland as possible . Kelly glared at him. Holland chose to look anywhere but the four spartans in the drop ship. It was obvious they were keeping secrets from her, and even more obvious there was a disagreement on it.

"So, I see you specialize in close combat" Linda said, diverting the conversation. "That makes it sound like i'm not a sucky sniper but sure, call it specialize if you'd like" Holland responded with a grin, making Fred chuckle. Holland raised an eyebrow at the chief. "You don't laugh much, do ya?" she asked. "Negative" He responded, and Holland found herself resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

Jumping out of the drop ship had Holland rattled to her core. She wasn't sure if she wanted to vomit or pass out. She regained her composure quickly however, and followed the spartans to the covenant base. The planet was dark and dreary, covered in what appeared to be dying foliage. It would make good cover if she needed it.

The rebel base was rather small, but was probably crawling with enemies. Holland kept her head down as she followed the rest of blue team to a poorly lit side of the building. "The datapad says there should be a door somewhere on this side of the building" Linda said through her intercom. Holland found it strange that such information would be in ONI custody. This whole mission didn't make much sense. She felt along the wall until her hand hit what felt like a door frame. "Right here" She said. She stood back and watched as Chief kicked down the door before Blue team filed into the building, keeping their weapons ready until the all clear from Chief.

"From here we split into two teams" Chief explained. "Kelly and Linda are with me, Fred and 033, your mission is to collect any data that ONI could use, we'll meet back here once the threats have been neutralized" He said before the team split in different directions. The corredor Holland chose was long, ominous, and screamed 'secretive'. In her opinion, it was the most reasonable place to search first.

She had no doubt that her and Fred would come in contact with little to no resistance. Chief and the others were probably making a wonderful distraction with their heavy battle weapons firing whoever they happened to pass by in the large facility.

The end of the corredor held two separate doors. The heavy metal doors looked like exactly what her and the taller spartan were looking for." I'll take right, unless you have a preference" Holland said, a hint of humor in her voice. Fred proceed to the left door without a word, and Holland sighed at her companions serious nature.'apparently Kelly is the only one who knows how to have a good time' Holland thought.

The rusty metal block was much to thick to be considered a door in Holland's opinion. Opening it felt like pushing a boulder on hinges and the loud squealing suggested that they hadn't been oiled in a while. The room was dark, and covered in technical panels. Buttons and lights blinked seemed to blink at her like stars. The amount of them was slightly overwhelming. The cold floor was covered in overturned file cabinets and papers, and resembled Dr. Halsey's lab after the Infinity hit turbulence.

The room looked as if no one had touched it in years due to the amount of dust covering the it like a blanket of allergy season snow. Had Holland not had her helmet on to filter the air, she would have been hacking and sneezing loud enough to alert the entire base to their presence. In her distracted state Holland found himself tripping over a stray filing cabinet. It was only then that she saw it. The ONI eagle was stamped proudly on the cabinet, as well as many other papers and objects in the room. It almost felt…. Ominous.

In the middle of the room, a desk sat, covered in messy stacks of paper and folders containing files of all sorts. Ignoring her skepticism of the room, Holland grabbed what appeared to be a large, leather satchel off the desk and began stuffing the various files and papers into it in much neater way than she had found them. She had been prepared to tote micro usbs and other small storage devices, but actual papers? Just how old was this base?

The longer she stayed in the odd room the more she began to let her wariness sink in. She wasn't sure if her mind was playing tricks on her or if the room actually began to get colder. The lack of air vents in the room didn't help to calm her anxiety.

Chills began to run up her spine as something rather odd happened. The room began to disappear. Colors became blurred and objects began turning into different objects. Holland squeezed her eyes shut and waited for it to pass. She was right, something was definitely wrong with this place. When she opened her eyes she sat on the dirt covered ground of an unknown planet. She didnt remember having fallen to the ground, but the past thirty seconds had been extremely blurry. Carefully, Holland stood up from the pile of pebbles she was sitting in and looked around. Rocks upon rocks surrounded her, like a wasteland of towering, old stone. The ground beneath her feet felt odd. As if she wasn't really standing on it. "The domain is opening" Holland's breath caught in her throat as the whisper made its way to her like a wave of cold air to the face. She turned to see a figure walk around a corner of rock, blue light emitting eerily off the person's form. At least Holland thought it was a person. It had definitely looked like one. She quickly followed the figure around the corner of rock formations, only to find the person completely gone.

"It cannot fully open until you let it" This time the whisper came from behind her. "The reclamation… is about to begin" Everything was silent. Holland couldn't even hear herself breathing or the sporadic beating of her heart. The whole planet seemed to lose any ability to create sound. The blue sky became gray and less appealing to the eye the more Holland looked at it.

Her boots didn't even make a noise as she edged closer to the canyon close to the ledge she stood on. Holland could have trained as a spartan for years and she never would have sensed the giant structure that suddenly rocketed from the ground. The planet went from silent to painfully loud as the sound of engines startled Holland enough to make her lose her balance on the gravel entirely. The sound of metal scraping against rock was deafening and came out of nowhere as suddenly as the large structure did. It was in that moment that she decided she would rather be in the quiet storage room with all those blinking lights and ONI files, as she covered her helmet with her hands futily.

She nearly jumped out of her suit when she opened her eyes to find herself back in the dark room with ONI's filing cabinets. Holland began grabbing papers left and right and stuffing the into a satchel on her shoulder. She needed to get out of this room, and fast. She was stopped however. When she came to a particular folder. It wasn't the odd symbol on the front or unusual color of the folder. But the familiar, round face on the left corner of the first piece of paper in the file. Her face. Holland had stumbled across her file. Her first and only thought was that she absolutely couldn't let ONI find this.

It was the only proof that she was a failure spartan. Knowing it was one thing, but having solid proof was another. Who knew what obstacles they could throw at her with such information. Holland opened the file with a shaky hand. As far as ONI knew, The written documents of the failure spartans had been lost forever. And any info on them in the database had been altered by Halsey herself for their protection. That was another thing ONI didn't need to know about. Picking up the paper with her name and photo took more concentration than it should have. Ripping into an unsalvageable mess, however, was an easy task.

When her bag was too full to carry anything else, Holland stood and shoved the remaining info from her file into the bag. It didn't have her name associated with it anymore,and it could come in handy later. "033, Fred, We need to make a take off now" Linda's voice came in over the intercom as Holland made her way back into the hallway. "003, reporting back to the aircraft now" Holland responded as Fred exited the room next to hers. "Same here" Fred said as the two jogged towards the way they had entered. "Negative, there isn't time, you're approaching an aircraft station in the base, take a left right ahead of you, you'll have to meet up with us once we've left the base" Linda said. "Why all the hurry?" Fred asked as he picked up speed. "The base is going to explode".


End file.
